Ryan Poles was a hot commodity on the GM circuit over the past couple of years. He was a finalist for two teams last year, and reports indicated he was the man the Minnesota Vikings circled as their replacement for Rick Spielman. It looked like a deal was all but certain. Poles merely had to conclude a second meeting with George McCaskey and the Chicago Bears. Mere hours after the team chairman picked the 36-year-old up from O’Hare personally, it was announced Poles was the new Bears GM.
Multiple reasons were given as to why he chose Chicago over Minnesota. McCaskey’s gesture was one. So was the fact that Poles briefly played with the Bears as an undrafted free agent way back in 2008. However, there may have been another more practical reason. Vikings insider Phil Mackey of SKOR North explained to Jon Zaghloul on Sports Talk Chicago that it also came down to how much leeway Poles would have to retool the entire roster, particularly when it came to the quarterback position.
Ryan Poles got the green light to build it his way in Chicago.
That matters to a GM. Most have a clear vision of how a roster should be built. To them, working around players from the previous regime isn’t ideal. In his mind, those players weren’t good enough to win a Super Bowl. If they were, the previous regime wouldn’t have been fired. There would’ve been exceptions to keep around. Justin Jefferson, Danielle Hunter, and Brian O’Neill are obvious ones. However, everybody with hefty contracts might’ve been cut or traded. Minnesota wasn’t willing to entertain that idea.
So Ryan Poles listened to the Bears’ offer. McCaskey gave him the nod to do whatever he thinks is necessary to build a winner. The rest is history. Since he took over in January, Poles has replaced almost two-thirds of the roster that finished the 2021 season. Only 19 players remain from the Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy era. As for the Vikings, they’re pretty much moving forward with essentially the same roster they’ve had the past few years. Some around the NFL believe they’re only delaying the inevitable.
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Time will tell. It doesn’t appear Poles regrets his decision either way.
I am glad to have Poles and the new coaching staff
they are working great together to build a winning team
Poles is making a huge mistake building around Fields. The Bears needed a rebuild far more than did the Vikings.